variants
also flunkey
or flunkie
1
as in servant
a person hired to perform household or personal services
since I'm just the flunky who files his papers, I've no idea where he is
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sycophant
a person who flatters another in order to get ahead
a rock star who saw through the phonies and the flunkies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of flunky
Jin and his other flunkies excuse themselves, but Tetsu keeps Botan there to question him.
—
Chris Klimek, Vulture, 24 July 2024
By quieting the clamor among the offended Giants, Mays was not acting as a flunky for his white manager.
—Aram Goudsouzian / Made By History, TIME, 25 June 2024
One fib could land him in jail with the rest of his flunkies.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 25 May 2024
Lou’s father runs the town, sort of like a low-level mobster in a mob that only employs flunkies and toadies with nothing better to do.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for flunky
Chris Klimek, Vulture, 24 July 2024
By quieting the clamor among the offended Giants, Mays was not acting as a flunky for his white manager.
—Aram Goudsouzian / Made By History, TIME, 25 June 2024
One fib could land him in jail with the rest of his flunkies.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 25 May 2024
Lou’s father runs the town, sort of like a low-level mobster in a mob that only employs flunkies and toadies with nothing better to do.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for flunky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flunky
Noun
-
He was inspired by an early scene from the TV show, when the estate’s staff hosted a servant’s ball at Christmastime.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Since 2010, fans have followed the family of the Earl of Grantham, Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville), and their servants through six television seasons and three films.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This has become a notable concern about how AI as a sycophant is potentially impacting society at large, which could have alarming mental health consequences on a population-level basis further down the road (see my analysis at the link here).—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
13 Aug. 2025
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He’s surrounded mostly by true believers and sycophants and able to engage somewhat freely in various forms of government dismantling and corruption.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
22 July 2025
Noun
-
This is about the president of the United States and his complicit lackey Stephen Miller searching for ways to lay the groundwork to circumvent our democracy, militarize our cities and end elections.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Sep. 2025
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Its purpose is to maximize the president’s control over our lives, enrich his family, reward his lackeys and punish his critics.—
Steve Chapman,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Such as holding court, choosing your sobriquet, and naming imbecilic lickspittles to our Kingsguard.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
7 July 2024
-
What happened to the idea that art and culture should be a contemptuous refuge from the mainstream, as opposed to this lickspittle, running dog accommodation to the mainstream?—
Billboard Staff,
Billboard,
3 June 2022
Noun
-
More than 200 volunteer dentists, hygienists, and dental assistants, backed by the nonprofit TeamSmile organization and the Chiefs, provided free dental care Tuesday to 300 children from Kansas City-area schools.—
Tammy Ljungblad,
Kansas City Star,
10 Sep. 2025
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These failures occurred when the AI models confabulated successful operations and built subsequent actions on false premises, highlighting the risks of depending on AI assistants that can misinterpret file structures or fabricate data to hide their errors.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Matthew eventually one-ups the request by losing his boxers as well and going full Winnie the Pooh, which earns him the respect of his fellow suck-ups.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
23 Aug. 2025
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But the joke’s on us — Republican senators, who are the only players with any real power to stop them, have simply decided not to, all so that President Camacho can play at government with his favorite suck-ups.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2025
Noun
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In the past, Newsom denounced judges who ruled against them as toadies of the firearms industry.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Naturally his reliable Republican toadies lined up to support him.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
This is the same lineup, full of younger and mostly unproven players, that has kept the Rangers on the fringe of the wild card spot, a point of irritation among fans.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 Sep. 2025
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One of her biggest, most vocal fans, Ariana Grande, presented the pop legend with the honor.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flunky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flunky. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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